A Conversation with My Father

Reading Check

1. Heart failure (Paragraph 1)

2. Heroin/drugs (Paragraph 5)

3. Doctor and artist (Paragraph 25)

4. Uses drugs (Paragraph 5)

5. Tragedy (Paragraph 51)

Short Answer

1. A son begins using drugs, so his mother decides to become a user as well to become closer to him. The son quits his drug habit and leaves the mother, who cannot give up her own drug habit. (Paragraph 5)

2. She adds some minor details, such as the son writing about drugs in a paper called “Oh! Golden Horse!” (Paragraph 29) and the mother providing a home for “intellectual addicts.” (Paragraph 30) However, the main plot remains the same.

3. The father believes that tragedy is the reality of life. (Paragraph 42)

4. The writer imagines that the mother quits her drug habit and gets a job working at the front desk of a community clinic to help other addicts. (Paragraph 46)